Artists Re-imagine the ‘Woman Who Was Dragged’ and Killed by Brazil's Military Police

Image by Gabriela Biscário for the 100xCláudia tribute on Think Olga blog.

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages unless otherwise noted.]

Claudia Silva Ferreira, 38, went out to buy bread on Sunday, March 16, 2014. In the Morro da Congonha neighborhood where she lived in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Silva Ferreira came across a shootout between the 9th Military Police Battalion and drug traffickers. She was shot, and police put her in the car to take her to Hospital Carlos Chagas. She succumbed to her injuries and died.

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Image by Harete for 100xCláudia, Think Olga

All this would have been just another episode of urban violence, if not for the way the police dealt[2] with Claudia. Thrown into the trunk of a Chevrolet Blazer car of the military police, the trunk for some reason opened as the police were driving, and it caught her clothing. She then fell out of the vehicle and was dragged on the asphalt for 250 meters.

The scene[3] sparked a series of online reactions, including an homage by blog Think Olga[1], which invited artists and netizens to portray Silva Ferreira in a dignified way, as opposed to her last minutes of life:

The woman dragged by the military police had a name – Claudia Silva Ferreira. Claudia also had a family. And dreams, courage, sorrows and fears as any human being. Condemnations of the horror that occurred are important and should not cease. But to flee from the sensationalism and to humanize this moment is [important] too. Therefore, we set out to portray Claudia with more affection than what we have seen in recent days.

The project, named 100 Vezes Cláudia[1] (100 Times Claudia), received more than 100 illustrations from different corners of the country in just 24 hours. Images kept pouring in, so a second page was created named Mais 100 Vezes Cláudia[5] (100 Times More Claudia), which is being filled with dozens of tributes. One of the ideas of the promoters is to make an exhibition with the portraits and send some to Claudia's family.